Naperville's Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon

Music, Dignitaries, and a Free Ticket

July 29 public opening offers 160 spots for tours 2 to 6 p.m.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (July 23, 2007) – Moser Tower, the 160-foot concrete and steel structure housing the Millennium Carillon, will open for public tours for the first time on Sunday, July 29, following a dedication ceremony that promises to be eloquent and exciting.

The Moser Tower dedication kicks off at noon with a prelude recital for picnickers to enjoy as they spread out across Rotary Hill, north of Aurora Avenue and west of Washington Street. The nearly hour long concert will culminate with trumpets inside the tower accompanying the 72-bell carillon for Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

During this time, free tickets will be issued under the large tent east of Moser Tower. The tickets are for a lottery drawing to choose the first 160 citizens to tour the inside of Moser Tower, where they will enjoy a unique view of downtown Naperville and all its jewels, including the Riverwalk and Centennial Beach, weather permitting. One ticket will be issued for each family member attending the dedication, although anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

“We decided on a lottery to give everyone attending this special day an equal chance at being among the first to tour inside Moser Tower,” said Brien Nagle, chairman of the Millennium Carillon Foundation (MCF). “The residents of Naperville, through our city council and park district, have been instrumental in completing the construction work on Moser Tower and we felt it was only fitting to give everyone a fair opportunity to experience its splendor without lines or crowding.”

At approximately 12:50 p.m., the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Color Guard Team, led by the Firefighters of Highland Guard Naperville bagpipers, are scheduled to march down Rotary Hill announcing the start of the formal dedication, rain or shine. The Pledge of Allegiance will begin at 1 p.m., followed by the “Star Spangled Banner,” an invocation, and remarks by Mayor George Pradel, park district president and MCF board member Kristen Jungles, and Nagle. The poem inscribed on Big Joe, the nearly 6-ton bell that is the Millennium Carillon’s largest and named for city founder Joseph Naper, will be read while the carillon plays Igor Stravinsky’s finale to “Firebird.” The Moser Tower dedication plaque will be unveiled and the lottery will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Each ticket announced during the lottery will grant the winner four spots in one of eight half-hour time blocks running from 2 to 6 p.m. The first groups of winners will receive the first choices of time blocks after they report to the tent to schedule a tour. Forty numbers will be called. As blocks of time fill up, they will be announced to the audience. When the tours begin at 2 p.m., the Naperville Municipal Light Guard Band has agreed to play a variety of music for all to enjoy.

“The scheduled events will be a fitting tribute to this momentous day,” Nagle said. “We invite all the residents of Naperville, their families and neighbors to come and celebrate. Bring a picnic lunch, comfortable shoes and a camera. You never know if you might be one of the lucky climbing up Moser Tower that day.”

Moser Tower will be open regularly to the public following the dedication every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. into October, weather permitting, until the Park District determines that it has become too cold or getting dark too early for tours to be conducted safely. Admission is $3 for everyone ages 5 and older. Children under 4 are free. There is no charge for entry to the Visitors Center adjacent to Moser Tower, also the place where tickets will be sold.

Construction of the Millennium Carillon was completed in 2000 through generous private donations, including $1 million from Harold and Margaret Moser, and a $1.5 million line of credit from the city. Carillon recitals have played ever since, but Moser Tower has remained closed to the public because of construction. In May 2005, the City Council voted to take custody of the carillon and its tower and designated a portion of Naperville’s Special Events and Cultural Amenities (SECA) funds to complete the landmark.